Embossing-machine



M. H. LOUGHRIDGE.

EMBOSSING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30, 1919.

1,394,261. Patented 001;. 18, 1921.

HEET I.

M. H. LOUGHRIDGE.

EMBOSSING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30,1919.

1,394,261. Patented Oct. 18, 1921.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

M. H. LOUGHRIDGE. EMBOSSl-NG MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 30. 1919.

Patented Oct. 18, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

I l Wm,

MATTHEW H. LOUGHRIDGE, 0F BOGOTA, NEW JERSEY,

WAY SIGNAL COMPANY, A CORPORATION 035 ASSIGNOR T0, ATLAS RAIL- NEW JERSEY.

EMBOSSING-MACHINE.

Application filed July 30,

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MATTHEW H. LOUGH- amen, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bogota, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented new and useful Improvements in Embossing-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to embossing machines and particularly to machines of this character which perform their work by pressure and it has for an object a means for producing embossed designations of various kinds in a quick and inexpensive manner, that will emboss, punch and cut the material upon which the designation is impressed, and that enables designations to be embossed in groups and sub-groups in a rapid manner and with the utmost facilities for changing the designations of these groups. Other objects will appear from the following specification and drawings, in which, Figure 1, is a front elevation of the machine complete, Fig. 2, is a corresponding side elevation, Fig. 3 shows part of the op erating mechanism, Fig. 4, shows details of its construction and use, Figs. 5 and 5 show a detail of a locking'guide, Figs. 6 and 6 show the method of guiding the material to be embossed and Figs. 7, 8 and 8 show details of the type or embossing char acters used with this machine.

As will be noted from Figs. 1 and 2, this machine is constructed in the form of a lever press having a frame with a base 51, sides 61 and a top 52 which is formed into a handle for convenience in carrying the machine around. Bolts 101 hold the machine together as shown.

The main operating part of the machine consists of the type rotor 53, best shown in Figs. 3 and 4. This consists of a cross with four equal legs, A, B, C and D, as shown and provided with a shaft 64: through the center upon which it is tightly mounted.

" This shaft is mounted to rotate in the rotor carriers 62 which are supported by the eccentric shaft 65. This shaft has an eccen tric bearing 215 in the side plates 61 and upon an extension of one of these hearings, the operating handle 71 is secured by-the nut 108. When this handle is lowered the type rotor 53 is brought down with pressure and it, responds .to the up and down motion Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 18, 1921. 1919. Serial No. 314,330.

of the handle in a vertical plane as guided by the slot 214, F'g. 2, in the side plates. In order to bring the machine into the normal operating position, springs 73 are provided which rotate the shaft 65, thus raising the rotor to the up position. The extent of the vertical movement of the rotor is regulated by the eccentric 72 secured to the shaft 65 by means of the screw 102. This eccentric engages the top casting 52 as shown and may be positioned to increase or decrease the stroke of the type rotor.

Each leg of the rotor is drilled with two rows of holes 205, Fig. 4:, and intersecting these holes at right angles, a row of somewhat smaller holes 206 are provided. The holes 205 are provided to receive the round shank 201 of the type 21. The type is held 111 position by the type latches 93 secured to each side of the legs by the bolts 106. A turned over extension 93 from these latches fits into the holes 206 and engages the notches 202 in the type shanks with a spring action. A thumb piece 94 is secured to the type latches so that the type may be easily released and replaced. a

It will be noted from Fig. 7, that the type has a comparatively long, round, narrow stem with a deep shoulder and head. When placed in the rotor the thrust on the type is taken up entirely by this shoulder whichis very close to the point of application. It is thus possible to provide an individual means for positioning and securing each type character and at the same time to place them sufliciently close so that continuous designations from adjacent characters will be properly proportioned. .If the thrust were not taken up so close to the face of the type it would be necessary to increase the amount of stock in the head thereby causing a wider spacing of the characters.

The round shank of the type is prevented from rotating in the holes 205 by the type latch extensions 93 k p of the notches 202. It will be observed, however, that when two or more type are placed adjacent they cannot rotate as-there is no clearance for this purpose between the flat sides that are in engagement.

The individual type characters shown in Fig. 7 enable any designation to be setup in any of the rows of the type rotor. It may be found desirable to set up special charengaging the flat side acters such as trade marks as part of the.

' a character with two or more shanks arprinciple.

ranged to fit the drilling of the type rotor such as 23, Figs. 8 and S. The punch 22, referred to later, is constructed on this In addition to embossing, this machine may be arranged to perform other functions such as cutting. An arrangement for this purpose is illustrated in Fig. 4 in which the shear cutter 91 is secured to the leg A by the bolt 107; the leg being milled off straight and shouldered as shown to make a proper support for the cutter. The base plate 63 secured to, the base casting 51 is ar ranged to line with the shear cutter 91 so that the downward motion of the rotor will shear a strip from the material 251. The size of this strip is determined by the width gage 70 having the stop 222 which positions 251 relative to '63. This gage is clamped by screws 103 and clamping piece 69, Fig. 1, against the sideplate 61. The slot 221 for the screws 103 permit the adjustment of gage 70 and thus provides for adjusting the size of piece to be cut from 251.

When the embossed pieces are finished they are usually tied or nailed to the articles on which they are used. For this purpose a hole is required in the tag and this machine can be arranged to punch the tags in conjunction with its other functions. Fig. 4 shows a set-up with the punch 22 in position over the opening 223 in the base plate 63 whereby the strip 251 is punched on the downward motion of the rotor. In this application the punching and cutting are performed at the same time and embossing may, also, be performed by the same operation. However, in Fig. 3, the punch 22 is shown in leg D of the rotor and, in fact, embossing,- punching and cutting may all be performed by the one operation 7 or each may be performed singly or in any combination desired. The punch may be positioned in any of the holes 205 where there is a corresponding opening 223 in the base plate 63.

It will be noted from Fig. 4 that the punch is centered on the leg of the rotor whereas the two rows of type are equally spaced from the center; the result is that strip 251 is supported by plate *63 where the pressureof the embossing type bears upon it but is unsupported opposite opening 223 where the punch registers. A support under the type is necessary when embossing fibrous materials.

The type rotor is rotated by the knob 67 secured .to-shaft 64. This enables any leg to be brought into the horizontal position for the purpose of changing the type. The ro tor, however, may not always be balanced, I

therefore provide a centering mechanism to hold it in position and to permit its vertical motion at the same time. The centering mechanism, Figs. -1 and 2 consists of two parallel bars 77, pivoted at 80 and held in tension by spring 82. A square section 64, Fig. 3, is engaged by the parallel bars and is thus held against rotation for each position of the type rotor by the tension of spring '82. The parallel bars are secured to the side plate 61 by the supporting plates 78 and 79 and the screws 105 and 108 \Vashers 111 and 112 hold these bars in position on the shaft during the vertical movement of the rotor and the split cotter 114 enables them to be quickly assembled.

method of locking the rotor in position be-.

fore it engages the material to be embossed. Onthe end of the rotor aplate 90 is secured by the screws 104. This plate carries the studs 92 accurately centered with each leg of the rotor. Secured to the side plate 61 by the screws 103 is the locking guide 68, Fig. 1. This guide has a slot 211 expanded at 212, Figs. 5 and 5 into which the stud 92 fits, thus securely locking the rotor as it moves downward.

The material to be embossedis, preferably, in strip form and inserted into the opening 250 until it engages the stop 222. This opening is formed by theplate 74 and the spacers 75 and 76 and is adjustable to accommodate various widths of material by screw 103, Fig. 1, and the slot 225 in '75 shown in Fig. 6. The inner edge 74 of plate 7 4 it turned down to bear with spring pressure on the material entering the opening and maintain it in position.

This machine may be operated in two ways: When a quantity of tags are required all of which are exactly alike, the punch and the type may be set up on leg A of the rotor, the gage 70 adjusted for the proper size and the gage 7 5 adjusted for the'proper width, then a tag can be made with each operation of the handle as quickly as'the strip is fed forward. If the designation requires more than two rows of characters, the additional characters are set up on another leg of the rotor and the position of the strip changed between each operation of the handle. If it is desired to emboss both sides for insulated wires:

2231 HQ 4 2231 JO 2 2231 K 3 Here the designation 2231 becomes the main group, the letters are a sub-group and the units at the end are a second sub-group. 2231 is set up on one leg of the rotor HC 4, J C 2 and K 3 are set up respectively on each of the following legs of the rotor. Two operations of the handle will emboss each tag for any quantity required. As the units advance only one type character has to be changed. In this arrangement designations are produced having a total of 20 characters from 12 type characters and 18 operations of the handle emboss a total of 60 type characters for three tags of each designation.

In order that type in one leg of the rotor may be properly placed with relation to type in another leg that must match withthe first row, the rotor legs are graduated as shown at 31, thus enabling an operator to quickly pick out the proper location for type in any leg of the rotor. The rows are maintained in alinement by the locking of the type rotor when the impression is made.

F or certain conditions the designations may be arranged in two main groups and two sub-groups as in the following:

B 2561 HC 2 B 2561 J C 1 4322 HC 1 4322 JO 2 The number B 2561 is set up in one arm of the rotor and the number 4322 is set up in another arm. HC is also set up in one arm and J C in another arm. The unit 1 is first inserted with HO and all tags designated 4322 HO 1 are then made from the set up on two of the arms. This unit is then replaced by 2 and all tags designated B 2561 HC 2 are completed in the same way. The same method is pursued with the subgroup J C.

The numbering here shown assumes all of the characters to be in one line, where the designation is long, two lines will, of course be necessary. The second line may also be used for some designation that is common to all tags having a particular group such as a cable number appearing on the same tags with the wire number.

Sharp, deep cut type is used suitable for embossing brass, aluminum and vulcanized fiber.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In an embossing machine of the class described, a type rotor arranged for vertical movement and having a plurality of legs, a shaft for said rotor having a plurality of flat sides corresponding with the legs of said rotor and a spring controlled member engaging the flat sides of said shaft to position the legs of said rotor.

2. In an embossing machine of the class described, a type rotor in the form of a cross mounted for rotation, type characters for said rotor, means for individually securing said type in longitudinal rows in the legs of said rotor, each type character engaging the adjacent type character whereby they are looked against rotation, means for simultaneously lowering said rotor under pressure and for locking said rotor against rotation.

3. In an embossing machine of the class described, a type rotor arranged for vertical movement and having a plurality of legs, a shaft for said rotor having a plurality of flat sides corresponding with the legs of said rotor, a locking device for said rotor when in the lowered position, a spring controlled member engaging the flat sides of said shaft to position said rotor relative to said locking device.

4. In an embossing machine of the class described, a type rotor arranged for vertical movement and having a plurality of legs, a shaft for said rotor having a plurality of flat sides corresponding with the legs of said rotor, a spring controlled bar engaging the flat sides of said shaft to position said rotor during its vertical movement.

5. In an embossing machine of the class described, a type rotor arranged for vertical movement and having a plurality of legs, a shaft for said rotor having a plurality of flat sides on its end corresponding with the legs of said rotor, a pair of spring controlled bars engaging the fiat sides of said shaft to maintain the position of said rotor during its vertical movement and means at the opposite end of said shaft for rotating said rotor.

6. In an embossing machine of the class described, a type rotor, a double row of radial holes in said rotor, embossing characters having a plurality of stems arranged to engage a plurality of the holes in said rotor, and means for applying pressure to said characters.

7. In an embossing machine of the class described, a type rotor having a plurality of with similar index marks on each leg, type characters for said rotor, means for securing .said characters in longitudinal rows in each of said legs and means whereby said characters may be spaced in each leg with relation to said index marks in the other legs.

8. In an embossingmachine of .the class described, a type rotor in the form of across arranged for vertical movement, type characters for said rotor, means for positioning said type character in rowsm the legs of said rotor, and means for locking said rotor against rotation by the vertical movement of said type rotor.

9. In an embossing machine of the class described, a type rotor in the form of a cross arranged for vertical movement, type characters for said rotor, means for positioning said characters in rows in the legs of said rotor, projecting studs in the ends of said legs, a fixed guide for said studs, and means for engaging said studs and guide when said rotor is operated to emboss said characters.

10. In an embossing machine of the class described, a type rotor in the form ofra cross arranged for vertical movement, a shaft for rotating said rotor, detachable type "characters for said rotor, means for positioning to one of said legs, and means including said" cutter and punch for cutting, punching and embossing.

12. In an embossing machine of the class described, a type rotor arranged for vertical movement and having a plurality of legs,

a double row of detachabletype characters for each leg of said rotor, a detachable punch for said rotor, said punch arranged to punch the material embossed by said type in a line between the rows of said type.

13. In an embossing machine of the class described, the combination of a typerotor arranged for vertical movement and having a plurality of legs, a pair of guides for the device for said rotor when in the lowered position, a base-plate and adjustable guides on said base-plate for positioning the material to be embossed.

vertical movement of said rotor, a locking 14. In an embossing machine of the class".

described, the combination of a type rotor arranged for vertical movement and having a plurality oflegs, a cutter associated with one of said legs, a pair of guides for the vertical movement of said rotor, a locking device for said rotor when in the lowered posltlon, a base-plate,yan ad uStable gulde assoclated Wltl'l said base-plate cooperating with said cutter for cutting the embossed material in various lengths.

15. In an embossing machine of the class described, the combination of a rectangular frame, a horlzontal eccentric shaft mounted in said frame and provided wlth an operating handle, a second horizontal shaft in said;

frame moving in a vertical slot and'supporting atype rotor, links-connecting said second shaft with said eccentric shaft whereby a vertical movement is imparted to said rotor from said operating handle, a locking device for locking said rotor when in the lowered position, a springcontrolled centering mechanism for positioning said rotor during its vertical movement and a baseplate to support the material to be operated;

upon.

MATTHEW r1. Louennmsn 

